Sunday School: 9:30 AM
Worship Service: 10:30 AM
Women’s Bible Study: Thursday 10:00 AM
Men’s Study Breakfast: Saturday 7:00 AM
STAFF Meeting Tomorrow at 4:30 PM Our Church
Our Shepherding Groups meet on Wednesday evenings. There are three: Lee Copeland's Group, meeting in his home in Borden Ranch Rd.; Pastor Tom's Group, meeting in our church, and Roger Brown's Group, meeting in his home. Contact these leaders for time and place location (Lee: 480-518-1178; Pastor Tom: 928-243-1864, and Roger: 520-241-9289.
If anyone would like to host a group, please contact Pastor Jim.
Margaret Brown Fellowship Hall is moving ahead as the insulation has been installed and the drywall/sheetrock. Thank you to Rick Koberna and crew. We are looking to complete this project for the winter months.
WOO-HOO!
Christmas Caroling on Wed. 12/20 in place of Shepherd-ing group. 5:30 at the church and we'll go caroling to various shut-ins and have pizza and hot chocolate afterwards.
Our 2023 Christmas pageant "Bethlehem Inn" will be
Sunday 12/17 during services. A Kate Hilton Production.
Hanukkah began Thursday, December 7, 2023 and ends on the evening of Friday, December 15. It is often called the “Festival of Lights", or “Feast of Dedication."
History of Hanukkah
The eight-day Jewish celebration known as Hanukkah or Chanukah commemorates the rededication during the second century B.C. of the Second Temple in Jerusalem, where according to legend Jews had risen up against their Greek-Syrian oppressors in the Maccabean Revolt. Hanukkah, which means “dedication” in Hebrew, begins on the 25th of Kislev on the Hebrew calendar and usually falls in November or December.
The events that inspired the Hanukkah holiday took place during the intertestamental period, an integral part of Jewish history. Around 200 B.C., Judea—also known as the Land of Israel—came under the control of Antiochus IV Epiphanes, who thought of himself as God, outlawed the Jewish religion all together. In 168 B.C., in the attempt to irradicate the Jews, Antiochus’ soldiers massacred thousands, and desecrated the city’s holy Temple by erecting a statue of Zeus and sacrificing a pig on the Jewish sacred altar.
Led by the Jewish priest Mattathias and his five sons, a large-scale rebellion broke out against Antiochus and the Seleucid monarchy. When Mattathias died in 166 B.C., his son Judah, known as Judah Maccabee (“the Hammer”), took the helm; within two years the Jews had successfully driven the Syrians out of Jerusalem, relying largely on guerilla warfare tactics. Judah called on his followers to cleanse the Second Temple, rebuild its altar and light its menorah—the gold candelabrum whose seven branches represented knowledge and creation and were meant to be kept burning every night. (In the New Testament, Jesus attends a "Feast of Dedication.") (John10:22-23)
The Hanukkah 'Miracle'
According to the Talmud, one of Judaism’s most central texts, Judah Maccabee and the other Jews who took part in the rededication of the Second Temple witnessed what they believed to be a miracle. Even though there was only enough untainted olive oil to keep the menorah’s candles burning for a single day, the flames continued flickering for eight nights, leaving them time to find a fresh supply. This wondrous event inspired the Jewish sages to proclaim a yearly eight-day festival. (The first Book of the Maccabees tells another version of the story, describing an eight-day celebration that followed the rededication but making no reference to the miracle of the oil.)
FYI… With eight total occurrences in 117 years, Hanukkah starts on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day roughly once every 15 years. The most common start dates of Hanukkah since 1900, typically starts the week before Christmas. (zachary.crockett@vox.com)
Pastor Jim Powell
“Peace I leave with you;
My peace I give you”
Pastor Tom Brown
Attendance: 93
Tithes & Offering $ 6,672.00
Building: $ 1,100.00
Missions: $ 40.00
Other Income: $ 100.00
Pastor Jim Powell
Elders: Pastor Tom Brown, Lee Copeland & Bill Bujnowski,
Lanny Dameron, Matt Greenwood, Lee Larson, Roger Brown, Rick Koberna, Rob Hoelting and Javier Sanchez
Rondi Vinnedge/Worship leader
Lora Slater – Secretary ♥
John Greer – Media
Cyndi DiMauro– Bookkeeping
Tami Powell – Nursery/Kitchen
Cathy Parry– Prayer
Angie Bouck – Custodian
